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Comparison · PM

Flowable vs Todoist

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Flowable and Todoist — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Flowable vs Todoist: at a glance

FeatureFlowableTodoist
SectorPMPM
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesbpmn-cmmn, spring-boot-upgrades, breaking-changes, engine-only-scopetask management, ai capture, voice input, productivity
Last editorial update2mo ago2d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Flowable?

Flowable ships once a year and spends it on the Java platform, not on the process engine.

Flowable's release history is a slow major-version cadence — 7.0.0 in 2023, 7.1.0 in 2024, 7.2.0 in 2025, 8.0.0 in February 2026 — and each major is anchored to a Java-ecosystem jump rather than to process modelling itself. Flowable 8 moves to Spring Framework 7 and Spring Boot 4, makes Jackson 3 the default, and removes JUnit 3 and JUnit 4 support outright. The engine-level additions that do arrive, like lambda expressions in expressions, are incremental extensions to BPMN and CMMN semantics.

Read the full Flowable trajectory →

What is Todoist?

Todoist's 2026 bets are on capture: voice via Ramble, photos and files via Task Capture.

The entries SparkPulse tracks for Todoist are help-center index pages rather than dated release notes, so the detail is thin. They show a 2026 built around getting tasks into the app with less typing: Ramble turns spoken thoughts into tasks (January), came to Wear OS in beta (March), and Task Capture scans notes, photos and files for tasks (beta, April). Later months cover urgency triage and capturing tasks wherever they appear, while the experimental track retired Goals and simplified Quick Add.

Read the full Todoist trajectory →

Flowable vs Todoist: editorial side-by-side

F0.0

Flowable ships once a year and spends it on the Java platform, not on the process engine.

◆ Current state

Flowable's release history is a slow major-version cadence — 7.0.0 in 2023, 7.1.0 in 2024, 7.2.0 in 2025, 8.0.0 in February 2026 — and each major is anchored to a Java-ecosystem jump rather than to process modelling itself. Flowable 8 moves to Spring Framework 7 and Spring Boot 4, makes Jackson 3 the default, and removes JUnit 3 and JUnit 4 support outright. The engine-level additions that do arrive, like lambda expressions in expressions, are incremental extensions to BPMN and CMMN semantics.

◆ Where it's heading

This is a project whose roadmap is largely set by the platform underneath it. Each major forces a coordinated upgrade on adopters — Java 17 and Jakarta 9 at 7.0.0, Spring Boot 4 and Jackson 3 at 8.0.0 — and in exchange delivers query, variable and migration refinements aimed at large existing deployments. The 7.0.0 decision to drop the UI applications and the content, form and Mule modules set the pattern: narrow to the engines and the REST APIs, and let everything else go.

◆ Prediction

Expect the next major to track the following Spring and Java LTS jump on roughly the same annual rhythm. Nothing in these entries points to an AI or agent-facing direction, so any such move would be a genuine departure rather than a continuation.

T0.0

Todoist's 2026 bets are on capture: voice via Ramble, photos and files via Task Capture.

◆ Current state

The entries SparkPulse tracks for Todoist are help-center index pages rather than dated release notes, so the detail is thin. They show a 2026 built around getting tasks into the app with less typing: Ramble turns spoken thoughts into tasks (January), came to Wear OS in beta (March), and Task Capture scans notes, photos and files for tasks (beta, April). Later months cover urgency triage and capturing tasks wherever they appear, while the experimental track retired Goals and simplified Quick Add.

◆ Where it's heading

The pattern is AI-assisted capture spreading across inputs and devices: speech first, then images and documents, then other surfaces. The experimental channel is being used to test and prune, as the retired Goals beta shows, so not every beta becomes a permanent feature.

◆ Prediction

Expect Task Capture and Ramble to leave beta or spread to more platforms; the index pages don't give dates, so timing is unclear.

Alternatives to Flowable and Todoist

Other PM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Flowable or Todoist.

See all Flowable alternatives → · See all Todoist alternatives →

Recent activity from Flowable and Todoist

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 6mo agoTodoistTodoist 2026: Ramble voice capture and Task Capture beta
  2. 8mo agoFlowableSpring Boot 4 and Jackson 3 required; JUnit 4 support removed ⚡
  3. 1y agoFlowableAsync variables, skip expressions and broader query filters
  4. 2y agoFlowableLiquibase dropped from App, CMMN, DMN and event registry engines
  5. 2y agoFlowableBug-fix release adding async leave and LocalDate timers
  6. 2y agoFlowableSpring Boot 3.1.6 support and dynamic event subscriptions
  7. 3y agoFlowableJava 17 rebase; UI apps, content and form engines removed ⚡

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Flowable and Todoist?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Flowable and Todoist are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Flowable better than Todoist?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Flowable and Todoist are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other PM products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Flowable?

Top Flowable alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Flowable alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/flowable for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Todoist?

Top Todoist alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Todoist alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/todoist for the full list with editorial commentary on each.